Metropolitan Community College (MCC) underwent a series of considerable changes between 2010 and 2016. Facing a significant drop in state appropriations and enrollment, Kathy Walter-Mack worked with members of the administration to implement Chancellor Mark James' zero-based budget review. This required the college to evaluate all areas of operations and work to reduce expenditures and rethink the way some things were done in order to gain financial stability.
The resulting changes were many and some, such as the loss of an early retirement incentive plan and increased emplyee contributions toward medical insurance, were not popular, impacted morale and created tensions. Rather than viewing the differing opinions as a threat, Kathy Walter-Mack played an intregal role in focusing the administration on viewing the circumstances as an opportunity for an institution-wide conversation about shared governance and what it means in practice.
In the end, MCC employees and leadership decided that to them, shared governance includes serious attempts to consider all values, ideas, and opinions. It means listening to those who will be directly impacted by proposed changes through respectful communication. MCC learned that for their institution shared governance takes patience, a good deal of communication, and ultimately works best when participants understand processes and considers everyone's role in decision making.